PRIDE 2012
Little Rock Events Roll OUT
It's here again...PRIDE 2012 and it kicked off this weekend with old favorites and new mash ups that will certainly make for an interesting week. Last Friday night was a "salute" to former Miss Gay Arkansas, Sookie Simone who has rejoined the scene after a extended absence. I expect that we will be seeing more of her as it appears that MK's ( Miss Kitty's Saloon) is ramping up its "dance hall/ show venue" profile with many scheduled events throughout the summer. Included in this mix will be karaoke, Renegade fundraisers, burlesque troupes and who knows maybe some dancing elephants may come through at some point. Many of the events are being hosted by Miss Montana Reed, who keeps the maddness moving and grooving in between drink specials. Just as all these events were being announced, I was even more intrigued with the new guest bartender "imports" Ricki (l) and Ryan (r) (pictured) of New Orleans who camped it up and made their presence known during the weekend throw down. As I learned these two actually plan to drive between the Big Easy and The Rock each weekend. Of course I kept thinking "really" then I grimaced with a "why?" Surely there's plenty of work and certainly more money to be made in that city considering a bi-state commute and those pesky gas prices. Even though I certainly had fun with these two and they are cute as buttons on my 501's, but one would think that this job trek would get old after awhile. Perhaps they should work a deal similar to the frequent flyer warrior, Whitney Paige whom jet sets weekly between Love Field and Clinton National and all points east or west. This high flying, "bird watching" diva has been commuting to the area while holding down gigs in Dallas, Ft. Worth and numerous other Texas stops before doing Little Rock on Friday and Saturday nights at the Discovery Complex. Talk about doing double duty with wigs in tow! You just got to love what you do to be racking up all those sky miles and carrying those drag bags! Big props to each of these working and traveling folks. Of course, there were plenty of individuals whom said, "is this Gay Pride week?" And once again somehow the memo got lost in translation for a whole bunch of reasons that I could even began to name. So if you didn't know, check out all the Facebook postings and certainly go to www.traxsnlr.com for updates and schedules. Picture courtesy of Clay Clayton Photography LLC.
Don Lemon Goes Left on Journalist
CNN host Don Lemon railed against The Daily Caller and its reporter Neil Munro on his show Sunday for interrupting President Obama during his Friday remarks on immigration policy.
The Daily Caller's Munro raised many eyebrows last week for what some called his "outrageous" and inappropriate behavior. The Daily Caller tweeted that it was "proud" of Munro and editor-in-chief Tucker Carlson suggested that his reporter's actions were similar to those of former White House correspondent Sam Donaldson during the Reagan years.
“I don’t remember Diane Sawyer scolding her colleague Sam Donaldson for heckling President Reagan," Carlson said in a statement after Munro interrupted Obama. "And she shouldn’t have. A reporter’s job is to ask questions and get answers."
In a statement to The Huffington Post's Michael Calderone, Donaldson rejected any comparison between himself and Munro, stating, "Never once did I interrupt a president in any way while he was making a formal statement, a speech, honoring awardees or in any other way holding the floor...What this man did yesterday is something new, to me wrong and unusual."
During his "No Talking Points" segment, Lemon dismissed Carlson's statement and praised Donaldson's response. "There’s a huge difference between Sam Donaldson and Neil Munro," Lemon said. "For starters, who the hell is Neil Munro?"
Lemon highlighted a second portion of Donaldson's statement, in which the former White House correspondent addressed what he thought of some of the president's harshest critics.
"Let's face it," Donaldson wrote. "Many on the political right believe this president ought not to be there – they oppose him not for his polices and political view but for who he is, an African American!"
Lemon called Donaldson's statement "dignified" and thanked him for pointing out what he called the "elephant in the Rose Garden."
"Finally," Lemon said. "Thank you, Sam Donaldson – enough said there."
Lemon continued, "This is America...we pride ourselves on civility. And we also respect the Office of the Presidency just as we respect the courage of a man or a woman who dons a uniform to fight for our country. As a journalist, I know there are ways to get my questions answered. It may not always be on the timeline I want, but there's always a way to do it. And Mr. Munro interrupting to leader of the free world at the White House in front of an international audience is not the way."
(sourced from Black Voices/Huffington Post)
Little Rock Events Roll OUT
It's here again...PRIDE 2012 and it kicked off this weekend with old favorites and new mash ups that will certainly make for an interesting week. Last Friday night was a "salute" to former Miss Gay Arkansas, Sookie Simone who has rejoined the scene after a extended absence. I expect that we will be seeing more of her as it appears that MK's ( Miss Kitty's Saloon) is ramping up its "dance hall/ show venue" profile with many scheduled events throughout the summer. Included in this mix will be karaoke, Renegade fundraisers, burlesque troupes and who knows maybe some dancing elephants may come through at some point. Many of the events are being hosted by Miss Montana Reed, who keeps the maddness moving and grooving in between drink specials. Just as all these events were being announced, I was even more intrigued with the new guest bartender "imports" Ricki (l) and Ryan (r) (pictured) of New Orleans who camped it up and made their presence known during the weekend throw down. As I learned these two actually plan to drive between the Big Easy and The Rock each weekend. Of course I kept thinking "really" then I grimaced with a "why?" Surely there's plenty of work and certainly more money to be made in that city considering a bi-state commute and those pesky gas prices. Even though I certainly had fun with these two and they are cute as buttons on my 501's, but one would think that this job trek would get old after awhile. Perhaps they should work a deal similar to the frequent flyer warrior, Whitney Paige whom jet sets weekly between Love Field and Clinton National and all points east or west. This high flying, "bird watching" diva has been commuting to the area while holding down gigs in Dallas, Ft. Worth and numerous other Texas stops before doing Little Rock on Friday and Saturday nights at the Discovery Complex. Talk about doing double duty with wigs in tow! You just got to love what you do to be racking up all those sky miles and carrying those drag bags! Big props to each of these working and traveling folks. Of course, there were plenty of individuals whom said, "is this Gay Pride week?" And once again somehow the memo got lost in translation for a whole bunch of reasons that I could even began to name. So if you didn't know, check out all the Facebook postings and certainly go to www.traxsnlr.com for updates and schedules. Picture courtesy of Clay Clayton Photography LLC.Don Lemon Goes Left on Journalist
The Daily Caller's Munro raised many eyebrows last week for what some called his "outrageous" and inappropriate behavior. The Daily Caller tweeted that it was "proud" of Munro and editor-in-chief Tucker Carlson suggested that his reporter's actions were similar to those of former White House correspondent Sam Donaldson during the Reagan years.
“I don’t remember Diane Sawyer scolding her colleague Sam Donaldson for heckling President Reagan," Carlson said in a statement after Munro interrupted Obama. "And she shouldn’t have. A reporter’s job is to ask questions and get answers."
In a statement to The Huffington Post's Michael Calderone, Donaldson rejected any comparison between himself and Munro, stating, "Never once did I interrupt a president in any way while he was making a formal statement, a speech, honoring awardees or in any other way holding the floor...What this man did yesterday is something new, to me wrong and unusual."
During his "No Talking Points" segment, Lemon dismissed Carlson's statement and praised Donaldson's response. "There’s a huge difference between Sam Donaldson and Neil Munro," Lemon said. "For starters, who the hell is Neil Munro?"
Lemon highlighted a second portion of Donaldson's statement, in which the former White House correspondent addressed what he thought of some of the president's harshest critics.
"Let's face it," Donaldson wrote. "Many on the political right believe this president ought not to be there – they oppose him not for his polices and political view but for who he is, an African American!"
"Finally," Lemon said. "Thank you, Sam Donaldson – enough said there."
Lemon continued, "This is America...we pride ourselves on civility. And we also respect the Office of the Presidency just as we respect the courage of a man or a woman who dons a uniform to fight for our country. As a journalist, I know there are ways to get my questions answered. It may not always be on the timeline I want, but there's always a way to do it. And Mr. Munro interrupting to leader of the free world at the White House in front of an international audience is not the way."
(sourced from Black Voices/Huffington Post)
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